West system Aluminum repair kit 650k

[sonny1]

Reading up on this epoxy and it appears to be some good stuff. Is it worth the money? Anyone use the fiberglass tape and epoxy for fixing a crack in the hull? While wire brushing the boat I found a crack that appeared to have been repaired with fiberglass tape and some type of epoxy. Believe they used the West system epoxy. The batch was solid. My wife's brother used the boat a lot and know the patch was on for at least three years. Boat is being cleaned down to bare metal inside and out. Plan on using this product to seal all the riveted seams. The idea of using a propane torch to wet the epoxy into the seams sounds good but does that actually work? Feedback would be appreciated.

 

[Makaw]

Yup just this past week I’ve worked with the same 650 G/flex epoxy for exactly the same reason - sealing drip spots on my rivet seams. I chose West Systems because it came highly recommended from others on this forum.

I used a heat gun on low setting and it worked really well for getting bubbles out of the epoxy and it quickly made it more runny, which set into the seams. It’s very much like working with honey at various temps. I highly recommend applying with a syringe, that makes the application consistent and fast. It has a pretty long working time (~45 minutes at 70 degrees) and sets in several hours. West Systems provides helpful directions in their manual just for working with boat seams.

Overall, very happy with it as far as getting it on the boat. Based on others users experience, I have no doubt it will also perform on the water. I don’t think it’s UV stable so I’ll be painting over mine.

 

[airshot]

I have only used gluvit and " leak stopper" clear roof coating, that was over 6 years back and still going strong!

 

[sonny1]

Thanks for the replies. The rivet's look good on the boat but figure a shot of epoxy could not hurt. The seams along the sides and stern are in good shape but I would feel better about it if I run some epoxy while it is bare metal. Plan on priming and painting the boat after using the sealant.

 

[DaleH]

FYI - epoxy MUST be painted over or the sun WILL kill it ...

Search my name for posts all about West System's G-Flex 650 ... that only about $22 kit is awesome!

 

[kazzer]

Reading up on this epoxy and it appears to be some good stuff. Is it worth the money? Anyone use the fiberglass tape and epoxy for fixing a crack in the hull? While wire brushing the boat I found a crack that appeared to have been repaired with fiberglass tape and some type of epoxy. Believe they used the West system epoxy. The batch was solid. My wife's brother used the boat a lot and know the patch was on for at least three years. Boat is being cleaned down to bare metal inside and out. Plan on using this product to seal all the riveted seams. The idea of using a propane torch to wet the epoxy into the seams sounds good but does that actually work? Feedback would be appreciated.

 

[kazzer]

I'd like to suggest our product which is used to seal fuel tanks primarily. It has a 2:1 mix ratio and is ideal for sealing areas like rivets and seams. It is very resistant to fuel, whereas some epoxies are not. Gas Tank Sealer - Caswell Inc

 

[sonny1]

Does your product remain flexible? The 650k is used by bladesmiths because it does a great job of bonding knife handles. After using the 650k repair kit on my aluminum boat seams and most of the ribs I found it to be a outstanding product. Patched a hole in the bottom of the boat with the use of two aluminum patches,fiber tape, rivets and 650k. Look it up under thread New Guy. After using a fairing compound and primer/paint you can not locate the patch. Had some doubts about the claims made for 650K. No doubts now. Would highly recommend the product to anyone. Primer had no problem adhering to the 650K.

 

[LaqueRatt]

For what it's worth I've had great luck patching all sorts of stuff with JB Weld and fiberglass drywall tape. Fiberglass window screen works well too.

 

[sonny1]

I removed a lot of JB weld from the bottom ribs. I know it had been there awhile at least five years. Filled dents in with the fairing compound from Total Boat. Same idea but fairing compound blended in nicely.